Starting device for motor vehicle automatic drives



Aug. 10, 1954 G. H. COOKE STARTING DEVICE FOR MOTOR VEHICLE AUTOMATIC DRIVES Filed May 16, 1952 BY f am, Maf

ATTORNEYl Patented Aug. l0, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENTIOFFICE STARTING DEVICE FOR MOTOR VEHICLE I AUTOMATIC DRIVES l Garrett VH. Cooke, Richmond, Va. Application-May 416, 1952, Serial No. 288,356

1 This invention relates to a starting device or system for a mo-tor vehicle having an automatic drive, such as the so-called hydramatic drive, and, more particularly, to a starting device which is operable by the gear shifting quadrant lever conventionally mounted von the steering post.

In conventional starting devices for automof biles having automatic drives and variable speed transmissions, such as the so-called hydramatic drive, there is included in the starting circuit three serially connected switches controlling a like number of serial gaps in the relay circuit, one being the normall ignition key-operated switch, another being a limiter. switch which assures that the starting circuit will not be energized by closing of the starter switch unless the quadrant lever is in the neutral position, and a third switch being the starter button or switch itself. Such starting device has the outstanding disadvantage and practical inconvenience that after the quadrant lever has been-placed in neutral, the operator must reach over to the starter button, which is generally remotely situated, in order to start the motor.` Also, in case the motor stalls afterr it has beenvstarted, it is necessary to again move the quadrant lever to the neutral position and to reach over to press the .starter button whichof course, is time consuming and somewhat difficult, particularly for an excited driver. Y

An object of the present invention is to provide a novel starting device or system for a motor vehicle having an automatic drivev which will eliminate the necessity of the above mentioned starter button, and wherein only two instead of three serially connected switches, including the ignition key switch, are necessary for starting, or for 1re-starting when the motor has become stalled.

A still further object :of the present invention is to provide a starting-device for a-motor vehicle having an automatic drive, such as aso-called hydramatic drive, including ra quadrantgear shifting lever normally mounted on the steering post, which is useful also to operate-a starting switch by merely moving the quadrant lever slightly beyond the neutral position, whereby the conventional separate starting button may be eliminated and whereby both gear shifting and starting may be effected by a single lever, namely, the quadrant lever.

A more specific object of the present invention is toprovide in a motor vehicle having an automatic drive and variable speed transmission, as well as a gear-'shifting' lever, such as that 5 Claims. (Cl. 12S-179) conventionally mounted on the steering post, a novel starting circuit including a limiter switch which is operated by a sectional operating rod controlled by the lever so as to close the switch when the lever has `been moved through and slightly beyond the neutral position and which sectional rod includes'an extensible section which is yieldable to permit the rod to be so moved beyond the neutral position to the starting position and which will automatically restore the lever to the neutral position when it is released from the starting position.

Other and more specific objects of the invention will appear as the following description of practical embodiments thereof proceed. In its exemplary form herein shown, the invention is applied to an automobile having an automatic drive and variable speed transmission, such as the so-called hydramatw drive. However, itwill be` apparent that the invention is also applicable to drives for other vehicles or devices which incorporate an automatic drive transmission.

In the drawings which accompany the following specification and throughout the iigures ofwhich the same reference characters have been used to denote identical parts:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing somewhat schematically a starting device or system for an automobile having an automatic drive and variable speed transmission;

.Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view, partly in longitudinal cross-section, taken along line 2-2 of Figure 1 and showing the sectional operating rod included in Figure 1, and

Figure 3 is a modiiication of the sectional operating rod shown in Figure 2.

Referring now in detail to Figures 1 and 2, nu-

meral l denotes a fragmentary portion of a transmission housing which encloses a variable speed transmission of the type for providing automatic drive, such as the so-called hydramatic drive. The details ofl construction of such transmission form no part ofthe present invention and may be of any of the conventional types for providing an infinitely variable torque multiplying rate such as that disclosed in U. Patent No. 2,519,022 to E. R. Burtnett issued August 15, 1950. It should be understood that the invention is also applicable to other automatic drives including transmissions which are controlled by an operating member of some kind. Numeral 2 denotes such typical operating member to effect gear shifting and which is represented as a crank although it may have other shapes or forms. Crank 2 is operated by a rod or Bowden wire 3 which aeeasv is slidable through a sleeve 4 extending through the outer wall of the transmission housing. A bell crank lever 5 is connected to rod 3 as well as to one end of an operating rod section 5. A collar I or similar stop element is rigidly secured to operating rod section by means of a locking pin 8. A 901 flange or stop element 9 is rigidly fastened to a frame portion I0 or, in fact, to any other'stati'onary portion of the automobile, and servesf as a limit stop to limit the longitudinal movement of rod section 6. More specically, the purpose of the stop comprising cole' lar 'I and flange 9 is to permit movement et rody section 6 up to a point which corresponds to movement of rod 3 to the neutral position in the transmission. A spring loaded extensible' cou pling II is provided to serve as aiyieldable. ele-- ment in the sectional operating rod whereby the housing portion I2 thereof may be moved together With the operating rod section I3 screw-threadedly connected: thereto despite'y stoppage o'i rod section 6= by the stop element 9, as` will bek describedI more fully.' hereinafter. A lock nut I4 isl provided to lock the connection between rod sec'- tion; lf3v and housing'. lf2.. Into: the open end of the. hollow' cylindrical housing` I0 there is screw-Y threadedly' connected. an adjustable packing. nut

which' isv looked in. place to: the housing by means of a lock nut t6.. At" the endof rod section: 6,. there. is; screwft-hrea'dedly mountedv a' collarl I of` bronze orotherssuitable metal which is fastened to rod section 6 by locking pin. I8 or othen suitable: fastening4 means. A- helical. spring te surroundsaa portionoi the rod. section` E" with-A in.the housing; I2I and. yieldably urges` collar ITI away fromz the: inner. end.y of packing nut I5- against which the other end-.ofr spring I9 is supi ported.. At the end. of. rod section I3, there is connected: at crank portion` 2.Ilr of. a rod' 2I- which extends parallel: to-thefsteering post S. The top end orod Zliisisecuredzto. ay gear shifting or. con trol quadrant lever'.- 22? which' includes a. quad.- rant portion 22a encircling a portion of thesteering post.. Y

A. collar' 23i is.. fastened-1 to: operating red.' section I3 by means of a lockingv pirr 24; andithe collar 23m-adapted to operate ai starting. limiter switch 26: throughoperating. arm 25 only.` Whenthe rod sectionv I3 has beerrv moved: to: a. position beyond: the neutral position namely-g. the starting'- posttion` at which latter position coupling I:-`Ii is extended. and resisted.t by the. compression.: of: springv |19.

lThe motor starting circuiti includes in: addi tion to: the" limiter switclr 26.3. an. ignition` on keyoperated switch 2I whichsoperable'by'a key. 28;. and includes: af starter' relay 29 including` the usual; solenoid' for attracting an armature which.A is. adapted tot closev ther starter relayv switchl 3i).r upon energization-thereoi. A battery 3|: or other. suitable source ofelectric power iszconnected. in series` with-.thelimiter switch 23,. relay 29 andl ignition. switch- 2'I.- sotha-t it will' be: apparent that unless. bothswitches 2.3 and 2l are: closed, acircuit. willnot be completed; to.V the starting. relay in order to.. close the starting switch 3B- and. start. the starting: motor 32=.

In operatiomwherr itis` desired to eiect start. ing.y of the motor byV energization. of the. starting.. motor 32,` the quadrant lever 22 mustv be first.;

mov-ed-Y tothe neutral position.. Such movement.-

will. be. transmitted by rod: 2 I. and portion 2Q. thereof to rodsection` I3 whichzwillI be moved to theright, as viewed.I in-.Figure 2, carrying: withit. the spring loaded` coupling. II. wl1ich.now actsy 4 somewhat as a rigid unit because of the strength of spring I9 so as to move rod section 6 to the right. Such right-hand movement of rod section S will be arrested when collar abuts the stop element or flange 9 at a position which corresponds to the neutral position in transmission housing I, that is, the neutral position of crank 2 therein. But quadrant lever 22 must be moved toa position slightly beyond@ the neutral position which represents" the start position. By such further movement, rod section I3 will continue its movement to the right, but since rod section hasbeenarrested by the stop liange 9, the spring loaded; coupling II will now be extended, that is, the housing I I thereof will be moved to the right relatiye to` the arrested collar II, which movementigresisted by the compression of spring I9. At the end of such movement. that is, when the start position has been reached, collar 23 will strike the operating arm 25 of the limiter switch 2.6i sor as; to. partially close the starting. circuit. Ther remainder ofthe circuit is' closed by means ofignitionswitchi 21.. Henna. assuming that the.' ignition switch. 2&1: has been. previously vclosed-, the` starting circuitrwilllnowbe completed:thro-ugh` relayYAY 2B@ so asftoefectciosing: of. therelay switch: 3th energization of, the.' starting.v moto-r- 32 which will:I eiect. starting: ofi the. motor..

Quadrant. lever. 22v may now.' be: released: from: the:l starting'A position and.; in sol doing', it. will'. be automaticaiiy moved; back; to; the neutral posi-4 tionf asthefresult of thief tension orf expansion of: helical spring: t9? which.` tends. tm move rod sec.- tion lf3 to' the left", ast viewed.vv in; Figurerv 2,. turn-- ing rod: 2li and.. returning the' quadrant. lever tofv thai neutral. position- 'Rhei same operation as: described'. above: is.' em ployedI for re`-startingthefnrotorf in caseJ it should become stalled atter starting' and.: wheni it is inf. adrivo positiorr=for example'. More specifically, assuming: that;- quadi'ant lever 22. is` in; a forward drive position whenitheVA motor stalls,A to ive-start motor; lever' 22: isfV shifted. from'. such. d'nve' positiemtorthe neutral position', thence slightlyA A beyond: the; neutra-1L position; ini one1 sweep to the' start1p'os1tion. Uponzstarltmg.; lever.l 212r may-then:

be shifteli through neutrali back to the: same or.

anyfotlier'desiredI drive (or. niverse)- position.

Figure.. 3.1 shows.. a@ modification: or the; spring loaded coupling II but which shows a coupling` which: is-irn the; normally spread apart position :witherA than inaa. merma-ily compacted posit-ion asv shuwniim Figuren Such. coupling as'Y show-n;

inf Eig-ure'. 3. isa useful for' certain: types-v off cars.

whereinz it is'l more; convenient: tof move quadrant lever 22 slightlyfbaokwardlyf or: perhaps'-upwardly (or dev/nivvardly)Y ratherl than forwardly beyond: theV neutralv position in.v order.l to pla'ce-y it. in the' starting position, that is, with any motion Wherein, movement from. the. neutral to the starting position will` effect. movement; of. rod: section I3? to the left insteadof to the right. Thefc'ouplingf member may be insertediaspart-of. rod 2 insteadl of. rod-sections.A 6: and.v I.3. 'Ihecoupling member shown. in Figure. 3 has parts which. are identicaly to` those. shown` in. Eig-ure. 2 andf are.. represent-cd1 by`r theI same reference numerals.y Howeven. they coupling ismodiedibys the. provision` ofa. collarv 33 secured. by locking, pin.. 34- to the left-hand` end of. the. springY and.. by the provisionof two.

longitudinally displaceable sections of rod 3,-

namely,. 6a. and 6b., which. have. a. pini-andls-lot or. similar longitudinalslidable connection therebetween..

Itfwillbeappar-.ent that quadrant-lever 22 may be mounted in other positions or may have other movements or directions of movement beyond theV neutral positionin order to reachthestarting position. Regardless of suchmodications, the advantage may still be had of employing the quadrant lever as the sole operating means to eiect either gear shifting -or starting of the motor by a mere one-sweep movement thereof to the neutral-position and slightly beyond to the starting position. Y t Y `It will be apparent, of course, that other coupling membersthan those shown in'Figures 2 and 3 may be employed. For example, a simple substitution would be that of a strong helical spring for coupling vIl in Figure 2, the ends of which springV are directly connected to rod sections 6 and 13, thus providing a yieldable or extensible coupling. This would still permit righthand movement of rod section' I 3 by virtue of the stretch of the spring even after rod section 6 is arrested by stop 9 in its neutral position. Of course, this would enable the rcontrol quadrant to b'e'moved beyond the neutral position to the starting position and to be automatically returned to the neutral position as the result of ll contraction of the helical spring.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided an eflicient, relatively simple andeasily operable starting device or system for motor vehicles having automatic drives, which starting system eliminates the necessity of a starting button or switch and in which system the quadrant lever has a dual function, namely, that of a gear shifting lever as well as a starting lever or switch, making it unnecessary for the operator to reach for a remotely positioned starter button as is normally necessary in conventional cars, and whereby starting of the car or re-starting of a stalled motor may be done instantaneously and with great ease by a single sweeping movement of the quadrant lever to the neutral position and slightly beyond to a starting position.

While I have in the above description disclosed what I believe to be a practical adaptation of my invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the details of construction and arrangement of parts as shown and described are by way of example only rather than by Way of limitation of the scope or application of the invention as covered by the following claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A starting device for a conventional motor vehicle having an automatic drive and variable speed transmission, and a starting circuit for the starting motor including in series a normally open key switch, a limiter switch, and a relay switch automatically closed when said key and limiter switches are closed, and a manually operated lever for controlling said transmission and said starting circuit, comprising in combination, said transmission, said limiter switch and said operated lever, and a sectional rod connected between said transmission and operated lever including a section connected to said transmission, a section connected to said operated lever, and a spring loaded section connecting the adjacent ends of said other sections whereby the section connected to said operated. lever moves independently of the section connected to said transmission under stress exceeding the spring bias of said link, means for inhibiting further movement of the section connected to the transmission when said rod has brought said transmission to neutral position, closing means for said limiter switch and means movable with the section connected tol saidoperated lever posi-ri tionedtomove said closing means to close said limiter switch at a point within the range of. independentmovement of said last named section.

l2. A starting device for an automobile having an automatic drive` and transmission and steering post comprising,A in combination, a gear-` shifting operating rod controlled by a quadrant lever mounted ron the steering post and connected to 'said transmission, said operating rod comprisingtwo rigid sections and a spring loaded yieldable section interconnecting the two rigid. sections, one of said rigid sections being connected to the transmission and including an element; of `Vstop means for arresting movement thereof after the ktransmission has been shifted to the neutral position, the other rigid section being connected to lsaid quadrant lever, and ank electrical motor starting circuit including a limit-- er switch and closing means therefor, and means movable with the section connected to said quadrant lever against the bias of said spring loaded` section after arrest of movement of the section connected to said transmission, positioned to actuate said closing means to close said limiter switch at a point within the range of independent movement of said last named section, whereupon as'the result of release of said quadrant lever, said yieldable section will automatically return said quadrant lever to the neutral position.

3. A starting device for a motor vehicle having an automatic drive and transmission, comprising in combination, a steering post, a gear shifting lever mounted on said post. a sectional operating rod interconnecting said lever and transmission comprising a rigid rod section connected to the transmission, a rigid rod section connected to said lever, and a spring loaded, extensible coupling member interconnecting said rigid rod sections, stop means for arresting movement of said first mentioned rigid rod section after the transmission has been shifted to the neutral position, an electrical motor starter circuit including a key controlled switch and a limiter switch in series with a starter relay, said limiter switch being operably connected to said last mentioned rigid rod section in a position so that it will be operated to close the motor starter circuit only when said last mentioned rigid rod section has been moved through and beyond the neutral position to a starting position, said coupling member lbeing effective to automatically return said last named rigid section and gear shifting lever to the neutral position upon release of the lever when in the starting position.

4. A starting device for a motor vehicle having an automatic drive and transmission comprising, in combination, a steering post, a gear shifting lever mounted on said post in substantially the same plane as the steering wheel, a sectional operating rod interconnecting said lever and transmission comprising a rigid rod section connected to the transmission, a rigid rod section connected to the lever, and an extensible coupling member, including a helical spring, for interconnecting said rigid rod sections, a stop element rigidly mounted on the vehicle, a collar element secured to said first mentioned rigid rod section for arresting movement thereof after the transmission has been shifted to the neutral position, a limiter switch operated by movement of said last mentioned rigid rod section, an electrical motor starter circuit including a battery, a starting motor, a starter relay and an ignition @www key switch, said relay; ignition; key' am limiter switehbeing eonneted iin Vso to preventvsi'airtilzrg of the motor unless @om swiiches are erasedY said limiter switch having an operating element which is connected to lstfmentione'd miei@ rod section 'so will mi:` b'e eperaxede to: close me.i meter stiairwtiing 'cirr-y cuin unless; the rigid. rod section/connected theiaete is moved beyond: the: nexitzral position 'tothe stam-mg pnzsiti'on,` causing extension. 'et' -si een-11-I pli'ng; member, me. teman of" semi hele'al spring of. seid? euupmg; member: being emectifvetowauto meically move sad ias-tinemed rigidfsection and. shining lever to.` the neutral; position upon release of the: lever' "after beenn move@ be yui the: neuimak position. t@ the stancing posiisisnifr An automehilestantmgf device 'an recited in daim 4 wher'emsii extensible coupling member includes ai hollow cylindrical; housing rigidly cennwt'ed toe-said: last mentioned rigid rod. sentieri, ranadustable. packing nui; acrew'threadedfly con*I neem to: the open end of' said housing and hv ing; au central boire: through which sa-ici; first men:-4

timed ir'igi sectie@ fadapteei' te s-l'iie, fm een Twi- Eifl se'cztiiife'dT fi'ezhe terminal! of "'s'ahis# meniioned Section' sind'y f'glaiinst W-.v one en@ oflsaid Spring'- the fatherend of ie lspring bei-ng lsupporedi aga'i-ISE -tyheV imeiff en@ fae'e' of' sid packing nut; 'whereby said housing eieiient when moved by thel rigid' 'rodf s,e`e,ienI con-neiiedthereto wlill effeetmovemento 'the -ieiaiivete Saidcoller and 'come pression of said spring and Wherebyupon release Qi?y the ygein" shifting vlevi-:1' 'from the-Starting-psition, `*sfuiifsteil-T111@will retivn theievr te 'the neu-- traf position.

RiefmeneesfCite in the; file.- 'of this patent UNITED lSLfivrnz's PATENTS 

